


Everything I Am

by SophieD



Series: Leverage [6]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Anger, Con Job, England - Freeform, F/F, Femslash, Hurt, Hurt feelings, Leaving, Lesbian Relationship, London, Post Break Up, Sad, Teasing, Theft, Thief, Woman in Charge, bad break up, blood diamonds, criminals, doing what's right, fight, finishing job, grifter - Freeform, gun runner, snarky, stupid henchman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-19 01:45:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7339495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieD/pseuds/SophieD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was inevitable that Sophie and Tara would end up on opposite sides of a job.  Tara is still angry over the way that Sophie left her and is not afraid to let it show/</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything I Am

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as boredom on an airplane. Was playing around with Tara and her snarky attitude. It falls somewhere between the second season and my series "Everything Changes".

The large mound of stupid muscle is stomping back and forth along the grey stained wall in the tiny room I am being held in. In spite of my situation and the stifling heat, I'm enjoying myself watching him try to keep his temper under control. It's obvious that his job is not only to detain me but to extract information about who I am and what I am doing here. I'm keeping my mouth shut and its pissing him off. Or maybe it's the periodic sarcastic remarks I throw his way. 

His phone rings and his face goes pale. Must be the boss calling. He's not smart enough to do the job he was given and now he's in trouble. I catch his eye and wink, laughing quietly as his face turns from white to a disturbing shade of purple. He grunts a few words into the phone then hangs up and shoves it back into his pocket. His eyes come back to me. I'm still staring at him with a smirk on my face. 

"The boss man? Calling to see how we're doing?"  
He glares at me.  
"You tell him it's not going so well? That I'm not being cooperative? That your boorish interrogation tactics aren't effective?"  
He's still glaring and I'm not sure if he even knows I insulted him.  
"She's on her way. You're going to be sorry!" He spits back at me.  
"Oooo. That supposed to scare me?" I ask with another smirk. He just grunts and turns away.  
"Neanderthal" I mutter.  
He stiffens but doesn't turn back to me. 

I cross my arms and lean back in my chair, putting my feet up onto the rickety table in front of me. 

Boss man is a she. That's interesting. And by his reaction to her impending arrival, a formidable woman. This whole captive/interrogation thing just got a bit more interesting. As much as I like teasing the animals, I much prefer battling wits with someone of intelligence. Especially women. And if she's cute, well that's just a bonus. It's been a while. I look forward to some interesting company. 

A sharp rap on the door breaks the silence. I sit up a bit taller. Apparently this woman deserves some respect. I don't let my feet down off the table or change the insolent expression on my face. Some respect. The rest will need to be earned. I wish her luck. 

The ape reaches to unlock the door with a shaky hand. His bulk blocks my view but I can hear bits of voices. It is indeed a woman. Her voice is hard. I'm not up on my British accents but it’s not what one would consider classy. The louder her voice gets, the more the Neanderthal's massive shoulders sag. I smile again. 

The smile is still on my face when The Hulk finally steps aside and the boss lady enters. It's all I can do to keep my composure. She's about average height, shorter than me by a few inches. She slender and well shaped. Not bad looking at all. Her hair is jet black and matches the cold flint in her eyes. Her all black clothing is austere. Harsh red lipstick is her only make up. Still, she's quite beautiful in her way. 

She steps toward me, her black eyes glittering. With a smile of her own, she slaps my feet off the table. My chair lands with a jarring thud. I try to keep the insolence going but something about her stare makes me shiver. I'm beginning to understand why the hairless gorilla is terrified of her. She turns away from me without a word. 

The woman's attention is back on her minion and he's not happy about it. I'm sure he was hoping to see me "get what's coming". Instead, she's backed him up against the dingy wall. 

"Who is she? Did you at least get her name?" She barks at him.  
He starts to shrug and then thinks better of it.  
"Carter. Her name is, um, Carter."  
"First or last name?"  
He starts to shrug again. "Dunno. That's all she told me."  
"Is that it?" 

He actually does shrug this time and she glares. "Umm. American. I think. Maybe Canadian. I can't tell the difference."  
"Well that certainly narrows it down."

He looks almost pleased with the information. That doesn't last though as she spits out "to a bloody continent!" 

"Did she say anything else?"  
"She, um, she called me a Neanderthal."  
"Is that a good or a bad thing?"  
He looks confused. "Bad?"  
"Get out!" She snaps.  
He dives for the door with relief on his face. 

As soon as the door closes she whirls around to face me.  
"Bloody hell Tara! What the fuck are you doing here?"

I smile. "Annie Kroy?"  
She nods.  
I smile. "Annie's a badass. That ape out there is terrified of you."  
"This isn't funny Tara!" She's dropped the accent but the attitude is still there.  
I shrug this time.  
"This is serious Tara. Really. Do you have any idea what's going on?"  
I fold my arms again.  
"I've got a pretty good idea."

She shakes her head and drops into the chair next to me. Her voice is softer now.  
"They're going to kill you Tara. Or expect me to."  
I shrug again. She sits back in her chair with a sigh.  
"Tell me" she says quietly. 

"There isn't much to tell. Buyer. Diamonds. Money trail brings me to London."  
She clarifies a bit.  
"Blood diamonds. Weapons. Your 'buyer' is an arms dealer. He sells the diamonds for guns then sends you to steal them back."  
"Whatever"  
"Tara! You really work for people like this? He's a killer! He's responsible for at least three deaths here in London and probably thousands back at home."  
I shrug again. It's pissing her off and I'm enjoying turning the tables on her for a change. 

"You work for them. Annie is a gun runner."  
She sighs. "No I'm working to bring them down. I'm trying to track the weapons before they leave the UK for Africa. And then I hear that some woman is sneaking around my warehouse."  
Now I'm offended. "I wasn't sneaking!"  
She sighs again. "No you were stealing. And you got caught. You're lucky you didn't get a bullet in the back of your head."  
I shrug one more time. It's not often I see The Great Sophie Devereaux lose her cool and I'm kind of enjoying provoking her. That and I really don't like her telling me what I can and cannot do. 

She’s up and pacing again.  
"Damn it Tara! Now I have to figure out how to get you out of here! Without getting either of us killed."  
"Who says I want out?"  
"What? Are you serious?"  
I nod. "I came here to do a job. The job isn't done."  
"Tara! I just told you why..."

I'm getting pissed now myself. "Look Soph, I didn't ask for your help. I don't need your help. I know what I'm doing."  
"Sure Tara. Right up until you got caught."  
I raise an eyebrow.  
"Jeez Tara! You meant to get caught?"  
"How else was I going to find out who was in charge?"  
She swears again. "You're not just here looking for diamonds are you?"  
I shake my head.  
"You gonna tell me?"  
I shake my head again.  
"This one of your secret missions?"  
I just stare at her, not changing my expression. She gets it.  
"Right. But you can't talk about it. For my own fucking safety."

She pulls a chair out and plops herself into it. She lets her head fall into her hands. When she speaks again, her voice is much friendlier.  
"So what do you need to know? If I help you with that, will you let me get us both out?"

"Why don't you just call Nate?" She may be over it but I'm still feeling snarky.  
She doesn't move and I laugh sharply.  
"Nate doesn't know? Oh that's just perfect! He's going to kill you!"  
"Not if these guys do it first" she mutters. 

I put my boot back on the edge of the table and tip back again. "I see you're still keeping secrets”, I say with just the right amount of snark in my voice to make it sting.  
Her head snaps up and she glares.  
"You go rogue? Or just neglected to tell the team?"  
I'm pretty sure I'm close to her lashing out at me, possibly with a slap. If I remember right, she's good with those.  
"Will you just shut up please so I can think!" She snaps.  
I do but I do nothing to change my body language. Arms crossed, feet on the table, staring at her. It's annoying her as much as my words were. 

Finally she looks back at me with a sigh. "What are we doing here Tara?"  
Her eyes are sad now and I feel a bit guilty about how I've been treating her. But then again, she could be lying to me. Sophie only lets you see what she wants you to see. She would never show this much weakness unless she wanted to manipulate me. But damn it! It's working. Just like she knew it would. Just like it always does. I try to hold onto just a bit of my edge, just in case she's really just playing me. 

"I don't know Soph. You're the one who left. Again. No calls, no letters, not even a damn text."  
"I told you..." She tries to answer. I feel the anger creeping back in to my voice. 

"No Sophie. You left me a note. We were having a good time. I thought we were anyway. And then, what? It got a little bit too real? And you ran! 'Sorry. Something came up. Call me."  
And you left! Again! But hey, at least you left a note this time. We're making progress."

"You knew where I was!"  
"Yeah I knew exactly where you were Soph. With Nate! I can't keep doing this. It's not good for me, never knowing if you're in my life or not? Always wondering if you're going to make time for me. Never knowing if you really care or it's just the sex you want. Or if you're going to finally leave me for Nate."

"I care Tara" she cries, "I've always cared."

"Yeah well not enough" I want to be strong. I want her to know I mean what I'm saying. Even I can hear the weakness in my voice. I never have been able to resist her. Her dark brown eyes, her olive skin, the way she looks at me, the way she makes me feel. I want to wrap her up and kiss her. I want her to fill the emptiness inside of me. I want her to be the dreams I have at night. Damn it. I just want her. I always have. It's the one thing she will never give me. I pull my arms tighter around myself. 

"Can we talk about this later?" She asks.  
I nod though I know we never will.  
"Right now we need to figure out how to get you out of here without getting both of us killed."  
"I'm not leaving without my diamonds" I tell her.  
"And I'm not leaving without my gunrunners so I guess we're just going to have to work together".  
I nod again.  
"Are you really going to give the diamonds back?" She asks  
I shrug. "I haven't decided yet. I really didn't know they were blood diamonds. Or that they were being used to buy guns. I would never have taken the job if I had known. You and your do-gooder friends, y'all changed me."  
She smiles at that. "It does get under your skin doesn't it?"  
Another shrug. "Yeah but it's a dangerous way of thinking. If I take the diamonds, I've got your clients after me and if I don't hand them over, I've got mine too. Honestly, neither side deserve to have them. Or the guns."  
"You're right" she says, "about everything."  
"So now what?"  
"I guess we work together.”  
"You think that's a good idea?"  
She smiles. "No I think it's a bloody horrible idea but it's the best one I've got."

"I'm sorry but I've got to make this look good. I'll get you your phone back. Keep it on. I'll have you moved some place safer and contact you when I can. And again, sorry about this."  
She goes back into Annie's accent and starts yelling. I'm almost frightened by the sudden hatred in her eyes. She really is good at this! She knocks my feet off the table and I land with another tooth rattling jolt. And then she slaps me. The sound echoes through the room and I can feel the welts  
begin to form on my cheek. She doesn't look sorry at all now. 

With another few swear words, she stomps to the door, throwing it open and barking at her man on the other side. I don't see her again. The Neanderthal comes back in and gives me a dirty look. He's not at all pleased that I got him in trouble with the boss lady. I paste the smirk back on my face. 

"Had to send the woman in to do your job eh? That's gotta hurt."  
He glares at me but has no witty come back.  
"Get up. You're getting moved!"  
"Ooo. Goody. I hope it's some place nicer than this. I hear the penthouse at the Ritz is nice."  
No witty comeback. I’m disappointed in him. 

I get up and follow him to his car. He shoves me in the back seat and climbs into the front. I hear a chirping sound and stick my hand down between the seats. My fingers wrap around my phone and a slide it into my pocket. 

The new accommodations aren't exactly luxury but the toilet works and the bed doesn't seem to have too many bugs. My Luddite friend occasionally visits to throw greasy food at me in exchange for insults he doesn't quite understand. I watch a lot of BBC documentaries on the ancient TV and try not to go crazy waiting for Sophie to call. All things considered it's not been a half bad couple of days. It's certainly better than being dead. 

The text comes late at night. *Meet for lunch  
Enjoy the fish  
1:45 smoke break  
Turn left*

The key is hidden in the fish and chips. At exactly 1:45 I unlock the door. My friend is outside the hall door to my right, smoking one of his foul cigars. Everything is clear to the left. Sophie is waiting in a car just outside.

I slide into the passenger seat and she drives silently. After about 20 minutes, she stops the car in front of the train station in a neighbouring town. Neither of us moves. We’re both waiting for the other to say something. I can’t think of anything I want to say. Finally she sighs deeply and pulls a small pouch out of her pocket. I hold out my hand and she drops it in.

“What is it?” I ask although I can already feel that it’s full of stones.  
“It’s what you came for isn’t it?”  
It is but I had hoped to leave with so much more. I finger the bag while I try to think of what I want to say to her. She speaks first.  
“I fixed it. They won’t know you have the diamonds. They won’t come after you.”  
“Thanks. What about you?”  
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I still need to clean up things on my end.”  
“You’re going back in?”  
She nods. “I have to go now. Before they miss me.”  
"Yeah. Me too. I’ve got an appointment I need to make.”  
“You’re really going to give them back?”

I’m not, now that I know what they are. I’ll deal with my client. I’ll find a way to get them back to the people they belong to. I don’t tell her that.

"Of course. It’s a job. I need to finish what I started.”  
She sighs again. “I thought you learned something from us? About doing the right thing?”  
I want to be angry with her. I want to be sarcastic. I just sound sad.  
“That’s the problem Sophie. Everything I am, I learned from you. That’s why I need to go.”

I get out of the car and start to walk away. I want her to follow me. She doesn’t. I want her to tell me she loves me. She won’t. I want her to come to me and tell me that she’ll never leave me again. She can’t. 

“Good-bye Sophie” I whisper.


End file.
